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What Do the Major Changes to the Virgin Atlantic Award Program Mean for You?

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Earning miles and tier points for status is getting harder if you usually fly in coach on deeply discounted fares. And getting an Upper Class (First Class) award flight is becoming more expensive, too.

However, some award flight prices for coach and Premium Economy are being significantly reduced, which is good news!

Big Changes Are Coming to How You Earn and Redeem Virgin Atlantic Miles

I’ll show you how the changes affect your future Virgin Atlantic award flights, so you can decide whether you want to stick with the program or move on.

Virgin Atlantic Is Moving Toward a Revenue-Based Program

1. Many Members Will Lose on Earnings

Starting November 13, 2016, you’ll earn fewer miles and tier points on cheap coach flights. So earning elite status will become harder, too.

Virgin Atlantic Is Famous for Its Striking Cabin Design

For example, if you are a Red (non-elite) member, you’ll only earn 50% miles for deeply discounted coach tickets instead of 100%.

And they’ve changed the way they calculate tier points, which qualify folks for elite status. Under the old system, discount coach tickets would earn 2 tier points, worth 50 points under the new system (multiplied by 25).

Tier points are status points. You need them in order to move to the next elite level. You used to need 15 old tier points (or 375 new points) to earn Silver, and now it’s 400 points — a slight increase.

To reach Gold, you needed 40 points, and now it’s 1,000 points, so no changes there.

2. But Some Folks Will Win Big

If you fly Upper Class (Virgin Atlantic First Class) or buy full fare Premium Economy tickets, you’ll earn more miles and tier points.

With the old scheme, you would earn 200% of flown miles on full fare Upper Class tickets.

But under the new rules, you will earn 400% of flown miles on a flexible Upper Class ticket. So, folks who buy flexible or even discounted (but not deeply discounted) Premium Economy or Upper Class tickets will be better off after the changes.

Example: Atlanta to London

According to the Great Circle Mapper, the flying distance between Atlanta and London is 4,210 miles.

Distance Between Atlanta and London to Calculate the Earnings

This is what you will earn starting November 13, 2016.

You Will Earn 50% Miles in Deep Discounted Coach and 400% Miles for a Flexible Upper Class Ticket

And this is what you earn now:

Coach (all classes): 100%

Premium Economy (K,H): 125%

Premium Economy (W,S): 150%

Upper Class (I,Z): 150%

Upper Class (J,D,C): 200%

So, the miles you’ll earn for deep discount coach tickets will be half (50% vs. 100%). And deep discount coach is how most folks travel.

Your earning rate for tier points will change in a similar way. Right now, if you buy a flexible or even discounted (but not deeply discounted) ticket in Upper Class, you earn 5 to 6 tier points, worth 125 to 150 points in the new system.

But under the new scheme you will get 200 points, a 33% to 60% increase. The folks on Flyertalk created a handy graphic explaining the changes.

Tier (Elite) Points Earnings Are Also Changing in Favor of Upper Class Fares

But redemption levels for coach and Premium Economy are often cheaper, especially for folks in the Northeast who can fly off-peak.

For example, you’ll be able to fly to the UK for 20,000 miles in coach (down 15,000 miles), 35,000 miles in Premium Economy (down 20,000 miles), and 95,000 miles in Business Class (up 15,000 miles).

However, even 95,000 miles for a round-trip flight to Europe in Business Class is competitive compared to other airlines. Here is the old Virgin Atlantic award chart.

Virgin Atlantic Current Redemption Levels: All Classes

For comparison, American Airlines and United Airlines charge 115,000 miles, and Delta charges 125,000 miles for the same flight (and will be charging 140,000 miles for flights after January 1, 2017).

Unfortunately, Virgin Atlantic adds BIG fuel surcharges, and departure taxes from the UK are substantial. So even though you may save miles, you’ll still pay higher taxes and fees.

Here is the real cost of aVirgin Atlantic award ticket between Chicago and London.

Coach: 25,000 miles and ~$645 to ~$774 in taxes and fees

Premium Economy: 45,000 miles and ~$700 to ~$900 in taxes and fees

Business Class: 95,000 miles and ~$1,120 to ~$1,344 in taxes and fees

These changes suggest Virgin Atlantic is trying to encourage folks to fly off-peak on Premium Economy, and discourage using miles for Business Class.

Other New Features

1. Miles Plus Money

The most important of these small changes is Miles Plus Money. You’ll be able to book Miles Plus Money flights starting at 3,000 miles, and it will be a flexible discount for all cabins. You will still earn miles and tier points with Miles Plus Money.

2. One Number

In the past, Virgin Atlantic would issue you a different membership number when you reached the next elite status tier.

Now you will have the same number forever, which is much more convenient!

3. Family Pooling

Family pooling is a great way to get enough miles for booking Virgin Atlantic award flights. There are several airline programs that let members pool their miles, like Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, and British Airways – the main Virgin Atlantic competitor.

Unfortunately, Virgin Atlantic family pooling is only allowed for the top-tier Gold members.

4. Young Kids Are In

Virgin Atlantic will also let kids under 12 join the program. Previously, only Gold Elite members were allowed to set up accounts for children under 12.

What About Upgrades?

Virgin Atlantic has streamlined using miles for an upgrade. Now it’s going to cost 50% miles for a one-cabin upgrade and 75% for a two-cabin upgrade for a one-way flight.

Example: A Premium Economy award ticket between New York and London costs 17,500 miles one-way, and a Business Class award ticket is 47,500 miles one-way.

So, you can upgrade your coach ticket to Premium Economy for 8,750 miles (50% of a one-way flight) and to Business Class for 35,625 miles per one-way trip (75% of a one-way flight).

If You Are Unhappy With the Virgin Atlantic Devaluation, There Are Partners

The rules for partners haven’t changed yet, so you can still use Virgin Atlantic miles to book a flight on a partner airline. Sadly, Virgin Atlantic’s partnership with Virgin America is coming to an end on November 13, 2016, but there are more partners like Delta, ANA, and others.

Virgin Atlantic Partner Airlines

For example,to fly Delta to Europe in Business Class, booking with Virgin Atlantic miles is usually cheaper than using Delta miles. A round-trip flight would cost you 100,000 Virgin Atlantic miles rather than 125,000 Delta miles (and that’s 140,000 Delta miles after January 1, 2017).

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Editorial Note: Neither the editorial content nor the comments on this site are provided by the companies whose products are featured. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or evaluations provided here are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the Advertiser.

Advertiser Disclosure: Many of the credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card issuers from which MillionMileSecrets.com receives compensation. Compensation does not impact the placement of cards on Million Mile Secrets other than in banner advertising. MillionMileSecrets.com does not include all credit card offers that might be available to consumers in the marketplace.